Means for moistening the films of photographic film-supports



. March 24, 1959 w. L'lMBERGER 2,878,741 mus FOR MOISTENING ms FILMS OFPHOTOGRAPHIC FILM-SUPPORTS Filed Oct. 6, 1953 INVFNUP United StatesPatent O p MEANS FOR MOISTENING THE FILMS F PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM-SUPPORTSWalter Limberger, Hamburg, Germany, assignor to Messrs. LumoprintZindler K. G., Hamburg, Germany Application October 6, 1953, Serial No.384,436

2 Claims. (Cl. 95-94) ing roller is made movable to 2,878,741 PatentedMar. 24, 1959 of the treating liquid on the film-support is madeconsiderably less.

Preferably, guiding devices are arranged with respect to the moisteningroller such that the film-support at the time of its contact with themoistening roller runs in a curve concave to the roller. In this way,the contact of the film-support with the moistening roller is not inaccordance with a line, but in accordance with a surface, whereby theeffective time of the treatment liquid on the film of the film-supportis increased. A preferable construction of the invention consists inthat the moistena and fro on the film-support. In this way, it isattained that the film-support becomes moistened on one side only in theregion where actual treatment of its light-sensitive film is required.

Furthermore, it is recommended to make the surface of the moisteningroller of absorbent material in order These methods have the particulardisadvantage for film supports with a paper base that the film-supporttakes up large amounts of liquid and hence becomes soft. This is ofextreme disadvantage if the film-support consists of a long band, whichmust be guided in long lengths for carrying out the fixing anddeveloping processes, even if it does not make this process impossible.A further disadvantage arises in that the chemical processes in the filmare usually undesirably influenced by the liquids (e. g. paper felt)located in the film support. It is further disadvantageous in that theabove-mentioned film supports at the end of the process have taken up agreat deal of moisture and must first be dried before use, which istime-consuming and makes special treatments necessary.

The above-mentioned disadvantages have up to now made the manufacture ofcopying machines extremely troublesome if not even impossible. It waspreviously not possible to construct copying machines which manufacturedcopies according to the diffusion process such that the final productcould be wound up in rolls in the uncut state.

One object of the invention is therefore to improve the treating ofsensitized film supporting layers, sheets or strips with liquid fluid.

Another object of the invention is to shorten the time for treatingsensitized film supporting layers, sheets or strips with a treatmentliquid.

A further object of the invention is to shorten the time for drying thefilm supporting layer, sheet or strip after having treated said film andto improve the facilities for drying said film supporting means.

Yet a further object of the invention is to eliminate or to diminish thedetrimental efiects of the film supporting sheet, layer or strip to thesensitized film intimately connected therewith.

A further object of the invention is to increase the concentration ofthe treating liquid without having recourse to increase the time oftreating the film of said film supporting means and without increasingthe danger of obtaining veils or hazes on the sensitized film.

In accordance with the invention, for removing these disadvantages, amoistening roller capable of being immersed in the treatment liquid iscapable of being brought into contact with the film to be moistenedwhile being subjected to a rotary movement. Only the light-sensitivefilm is thus moistened, whereas the back of the film-support does notcome into contact with the treatment bath. The considerable advantage isso given that the film-support remains substantially dry and thechemical influence in this way to improve the conveyance of the treatingliquid to the film of the film support.

In accordance with the invention, the advance of the film-support aswell as the rotation of the moistening roller are forcibly effected,where the rotational velocity of the roller is made different from thevelocity of travel of the film-support, so that there is a relativevelocity between the film-support and the roller. Preferably therotational velocity of the roller is made considerably greater than thevelocity of travel of the film-support I is continuously renewed and inthis Way and its direction of rotation can be so chosen that along thecontact plane the direction of travel of the film-support and therotation of the roller are equal, also such that the travel of thefilm-support and of the rotation of the roller along the contact planehave opposing directions. In this way, it is attained that thefilm-support floats on the liquid contacting the moistening roller.which is conveyed with a greater rotational velocity and a veryintensive treatment of the photographic film-support is ensured.

It has further been shown that by the continuous rcnewal of thetreatment bath or baths a speeding up of the difiusion process isobtained which enables the concentration of the treating liquid to besubstantially increased with respect to the previously availableconcentration, without any halation of the light-sensitive film withhalation-sensitive films having to be feared.

Whilst this curtailing of the treating time already represents aconsiderable advantage, it is of particular importance for the treatmentof those films and methods whose long treating duration previouslyprevented practical employment, particularly such methods which arebased on the solarisation eifect. As far as such films require severaltreating to connect two or more invention together.

The treating liquid is moved forward in the way described by themoistening roller substantially more quickly than the film-support.Should a single filmsupport strip of restricted length be concerned, asis fre quently the case, there is a risk that the film-support of therear edge of the film-support strip will be swept over with treatingliquid. To avoid this disadvantage, it is recommended to allow themoistening roller to run at least at the region of the rear end of thefilm-support strip such that the travel of the film-support strip andthe rotation of the moistening roller at the contact surfaces aredirected oppositely.

It has been shown that the film-support, without being provided withadditional guiding devices, wraps itself round a part of thecircumference of the moistening roller, if pairs of conveying rollersare only arranged before and behind the moistening roller. The adhesionof the film-support with the treating liquid supplied by the moisteningroller plays the definite part, in which this baths, it is possible forinstance of the devices according to the 3 effect is augmented suchthat, at the start at least, if the pair of conveying rollers succeedingthe moistening roller have still not engaged the film-support, thedirection of the rotation of the moistening roller is in agreement withthe direction of travel of the film-support. In order to avoid thealready mentioned risk of the rear edge of the film-support being sweptover, it is recommended to arrange the film-support with respect to themoistening roller such that it moves upwards in the plane of contact.

Further improvements and preferred constructions of the invention aredescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which someembodiments of the invention are illustrated diagrammatically.

Fig. 1 shows a diagrammatic representation of the invention showing asingle moistening roller;

Fig. 2 shows a cross-section through another embodiment of the inventionfor treating the film of the filmsupport with two kinds of liquid;

Fig. 3 shows a cross-section through a further embodiment of theinvention in combination with a contact printing device;

Fig. 4 shows a cross-section through a further embodiment of theinvention, likewise in combination with a contact printing device; and

Fig. 5 shows a cross-section through a further embodiment with anothercontact printing device.

According to Fig. 1, a pair of conveying rollers 60 are provided at thebeginning and a pair of conveying rollers 61 are provided at the endwhich are indicated as pairs of tension rollers. A stripper 62 serves toremove the film-support 59, which touches the surface of the mois teningroller 57 between the two pairs of rollers 60 and 61, from the roller.

As Fig. 1 shows, the film-support 59 moves upwards between the two pairsof rollers 60 and 61, whereby the risk that the liquid will spill overthe support and hence moisten its back is reduced.

According to Fig. 2, two moistening rollers 57 and 64 are provided witha further pairof rollers 65. Whereas a developing liquid 58 is containedin the first trough 56, the second trough contains a fixing liquid 67.Strippers are indicated at 68 and 69 and it can be seen from Fig. 2 thatthe film-support moves upwardly so that reversal of the direction of therollers 57, 64 can be dispensed with.

According to Fig. 3, the embodiment according to Fig. 1 is provided in acommon housing 71 with a contact printing device, which consists of atransparent roller 72 in which an illuminating device, for example anincandescent tube, is arranged in a manner not shown in detail. By meansof rollers 73, 74, 75 and an endless band 78 the film-support to beilluminated may be guided around the lower part of the roller 72. Theinlet opening is indicated at 76; at 77 the copy and the film-supportare taken out and then fed at 79 into themoistening device.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 4, the device of Fig. 2 is combinedwith a contact printing device. The contact printing device is suppliedwith the film-support through an inlet opening 80. The illuminatingdevice consists of a curved transparent plate 81 over which an endlessband 85 is guided by means of rollers or shafts 82, 83, 84. Behind thistransparent plate 81 a series of illuminating members 86 is provided.The illuminated film-support and the copy come out at 87 and theilluminated film-support is then guided at 88 into the moisteningdevice. Removal occurs at 89.

In accordance with Fig. 5, the embodiment according to Fig. 1 isarranged in a common housing 90 with an illuminating device whichconsists of a transparent plate 91 under which the illuminating members92 are arranged in a light-tight housing 93. Over the curved transparentplate 91, an endless band 96 is guided by means of rollers 94, 95. Thefilm-support and copy are fed to the contact printing device through anopening 97. Whilst the illuminated film-support is carried to the pairof rollers 60 the copy is led through a channel 98 to an outlet 99 in away not illustrated in detail.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for treating a layer of sensitized film on one surface ofsheet material with treatment liquid comprising a vessel containing asupply of the treatment liquid, 2. treatment roller driven at apredetermined surface speed, means rotatably supporting said rollerpartially submerged in said liquid so that the unsubmerged rollerportion will have a film of the liquid adherent thereto, a first pair offeed rollers located in advance of said treatment roller at a leveladapted to feed sheet material to said treatment roller at a pointsubstantially below he upper vertex of the treatment roller, a secondpair of feed rollers located in rear of said treatment roller verticallydisposed above said first pair of feed rollers, said sheet materialbeing engaged between said pairs of feed rollers for positive feedingmotion past said unsubmerged treatment roller surface at a lessersurface speed than said treatment roller, whereby the circumferentialspeed of the treatment roller will be unidirected to that of the sheetmaterial but being greater than the advance speed of the sheet materialand whereby the sheet material will be guided to contact an arc of thesurface of the treatment roller, without additional pressing on means,by the adhesive action of the agent on the treatment roller only, whichare, as regards its sense of rotation, is positioned before the uppervertex of the treatment roller, so that the sheet material is movingupward in a contact surface and a stripper engaging said sheet materialbetween said upper vertex and said second pair of feed rollers adaptedto lift said material from said roller.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least two vesselscontaining the treatment liquid and two treatment rollers are arrangedin the form of stairs one behind the other and additional feed rollersare provided between the treatment rollers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,591,436 Salins July 6, 1926 1,847,833 Horst Mar. 1, 1932 1,852,662Lord et al Apr. 5, 1932 1,916,108 Hall June 27,v 1933 2,142,318 LangsnerJan. 3, 1939 2,605,684 Nagels Aug. 5, 1952 2,732,778 Lim'berger Jan. 31,1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 371,276 France Jan. 18, 1907 7,844 France Sept. 3,1907 587,774 France J an. 22, 1925 337,029 Great Britain Oct. 20, 1930337,442 Great Britain Oct. 22, 1930 605,951 Germany Nov; 22, 1934823,233 France Oct. 11, 1937 632,823 Great Britain Dec. 5, 1949 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent N0a 2,878,741March 24, L959 I Walter Limberger Q It is hereby certified that errorappears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that thesaid Letters Patent should read as corrected belowo In the heading tothe printed specification, between lines 6 and '7, insert Claimspriority, application Germany October 8', 1952 Signed and sealed this17th day of November 1959.,

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL H0 AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Conmissioner ofPatents UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Pement No2,878,741 March 24, L959 Walter Limberger It is hereby certified thaterror appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and thatthe said Letters Patent should read as corrected belowo 1 In the headingto the printed specification, between lines 6 and '7, insert Claimspriority, application Germany October 8-, 1952 Signed and sealed this17th day of November 1959..

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL Ha AJQINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Cbmissioner of Patents

